Last movie you watched......

Agreed.

Wait, you mean The Dark Knight Rises, right?

 

"Rock of Ages." Feh. Not even my girlfriend, who is an 80s music obsessive, enjoyed it very much. Having sat through that dreck, I'm reminded of just how good "Across the Universe" was.

But mainly, I was left with the question ... How can you have a female lead named Sherrie and have the guy sing "Don't Stop Believin'" (rather than "Oh, Sherrie") to her at the end?

 

Finally got around to seeing Skyfall the other day and thoroughly enjoyed it. Went to an early matinee and had the good fortune to sit in a nearly empty theater. It's definitely old-school Bond, which is all I'll say to avoid spoilers. If you've seen it, you know where I'm going with this. And FWIW, Daniel Craig is the best Bond since Sean Connery.

 

yes. thank you.

it was so bad, i forgot the name of it. ; )

 

"The Elephant Man."

A gap in my David Lynch knowledge, and I'm glad a filled it. Lots of interesting stuff going on. A couple short thoughts to squeeze in before the work day begins:

* Perusing reviews from the time and later, I think a lot of people misinterpret this movie. Ebert, for example, doesn't like it because he thinks it's about John Merrick's courage, and he doesn't think Merrick does anything to warrant that label except, well, just "be." But I don't think it's about Merrick at all. He's just the vehicle for a story about us and how we treat outsiders and outcasts, be they the deformed, the ill, the elderly. You know what this film reminded me of, more than anything? Middle school.

* I wonder how much "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" was at least a slight influence. The hospital scene where the carnival goers break in and party at Merrick's expense felt like a bizarro version of the party in "Cuckoo's Nest."

* I love how Lynch, in certain movies, doesn't try to capture a time period, but rather, tries to capture our perception of that time period. Everything about this film seemed meticulously set up to have the feel of an early talkie, except with slightly higher production values (but not much). The aforementioned hospital scene, for example? Completely unrealistic. Except exactly how it would have been portrayed in, say, a 1930s or '40s movie. Even the acting had an early Hollywood gloss, like the method acting moving never occurred. Reminiscent of how "Blue Velvet" is not the suburban '50s, but instead kind of how we think of the suburban '50s.

* The doctor's struggle with whether he was taking advantage of Merrick, but in a simply more high-brow way, was a brief interlude, but the skeleton key to the whole film. Late in the movie, a theater audience gives Merrick a standing ovation. He's on display again. But is it just liberal guilt, essentially, driving the reaction? Or true appreciation? The triumphant moment of the movie is quite ambiguous and even a little unsettling, and that's a pretty courageous directorial decision.

 

Two thoroughly enjoying movies... I can't imagine too many people not liking either movie...

I took my kids to see Wreck-It Ralph... It's not exactly Pixar-level, but it's good fun...

 

This critic gives the best movie in the last 25 years a "C":

http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/14/showbiz/movies/les-misrablesreview-ew/index.html?hpt=hp_c3

 

Ernest Saves Christmas

 

"Ruby Sparks."

Delightful. A poor man's "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."

IJAG: You should immediately rent this.

 

Saw "Silver Linings Playbook" yesterday and really enjoyed it. Nice to see DeNiro actually acting, for a change. Best performance he's given in years, IMO.

 

I actually had been meaning to see that. Thanks for the recommendation. I watched Eternal Sunshine again last weekend.

 

Skyfall.

Tempted to put it ahead of Casino Royale. Miles better than Quantum of Solace.